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As tech automates, Blinkist keeps its book summary service very human
When I first heard of Blinkist, a service that breaks down recent nonfiction books to easily digestible snippets, I was afraid it would turn out to be some machine-learning-driven auto-summary thing. But in talking to co-founder Niklas Jansen, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the company is still very much people-powered — and in fact, that may be the root of its continuing success. Read More
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France’s telecom regulator thinks net neutrality should also apply to devices
The ARCEP just published a thorough 65-page report (embedded below) about the devices we use every day. The report says that devices give you a portion of the internet and prevent an open internet. “With net neutrality, we spend all our time cleaning pipes, but nobody is looking at faucets,” ARCEP president Sébastien Soriano told me. “Everybody assumes that the devices that… Read More
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Uber could be profitable if it wants to, says CEO
Uber lost $4.5 billion last year, but CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he’s not worried. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, the newly appointed chief defended the company’s financials, saying that “we can turn the knobs to get this business even on a full basis profitable, but you would sacrifice growth and sacrifice… Read More
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SignAll is slowly but surely building a sign language translation platform
Translating is difficult work, the more so the further two languages are from one another. French-Spanish? Not a problem. Ancient Greek-Esperanto? Hard. But sign language is uniquely difficult because it is fundamentally different from spoken and written languages. All the same, companies like SignAll are working hard to make accurate, real-time machine translation of ASL a reality. Read More
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Meet Lumi, the Los Angeles startup that just raised $9 million for a packaging business
Alongside co-founder and longtime partner Stephan Ango, Jesse Genet has built a business with Lumi that’s already been profitable, and has just raised $9 million in venture funding to boost its growth. Pineapple Fund drops $1M on the Sustainable Ocean Alliance and its new accelerator
Less than a month ago I was happy to be able to write about a new accelerator focused narrowly on technological solutions to problems faced by our oceans — and today the organization behind that accelerator has announced that the mysterious Pineapple Fund has backed its conservation play to the tune of $1 million. Read More
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As 99designs turns 10, CEO Patrick Llewellyn plans for an Australian IPO
Crowdsourced design marketplace 99designs launched 10 years ago this week, so I talked to CEO Patrick Llewellyn (who joined in 2009) about the anniversary, and where the company goes from here. Turns out Llewellyn and the official 99designs headquarters both relocated back to Melbourne recently, a move that’s intended to lay the groundwork for 99designs to go public on the… Read More
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Monzo given go-ahead to ‘passport’ banking licence to Republic of Ireland
Monzo, one of a number of “challenger” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, has announced the first step in its plans for international expansion with news that is has regulatory approval to operate in the Republic of Ireland. Microsoft revamps its startup programs with $500M commitment and new co-selling program
Microsoft has launched a number of programs for startups. These programs never quite told a cohesive story about Microsoft’s commitment to startups, though. Now, the company is launching Microsoft for Startups, a program that aims to bring technology and marketing expertise to startups and that includes a co-selling program so startups can piggyback on Microsoft’s existing sales force. Read More
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iHeartUs helps couples grow their relationship
Today’s Valentines Day, and while it’s certainly the quintessential consumer-driven holiday, it’s also a day where many couples take stock of their relationship. iHeartUs, a new app for couples, is launching today to help those couples keep and grow their relationships. Using a proprietary ‘love language’ algorithm, iHeartUs offers personalized recommendations… Read More
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